Parkour, an extreme sport that pushes its participants to mental well-being as they run up, over and through physical obstacles, is slowly becoming a worldwide trend.

"It's basically getting from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible. It's pushing limits," said Terrance Ivey, who has been freerunning — a variation of parkour that encourages creativity — in Las Cruces for three years.

Ivey co-founded the Las Cruces parkour group, Team Ibex — like the wild goat — which has eight or nine group members who practice freerunning on Sundays at Unidad Park and on the New Mexico State University campus.

"You start pushing your limitations and the world shrinks. It's metaphysical. You're breaking physical and emotional barriers. It's an amazing thing and it has helped in a lot of different ways, for me at least," Ivey said.

According to discoverparkour.org, physical training for parkour includes strength and balance training, physical conditioning and control.

After suffering a temporarily debilitating injury, Ivey said he began watching parkour videos on YouTube, trying the physically demanding sport after his recovery.

"I suffered a bit — it was hard to do by myself. A friend who had been doing it for a long time showed me some moves and shortly after, Team Ibex was created," he said.

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Local classes offered

However, Ivey recommends anyone wanting to break into the sport begin by taking parkour classes to lessen the ever-present risk of injury.

Zero Gravity gym, located at 3030 Harrelson in Las Cruces, offers classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced.

Adrian Ruiz, a member of Team Ibex and head parkour instructor at Zero Gravity, has been participating in the sport for more than 13 years, after watching a classmate at his high school flip over a group of people.

"I was immediately drawn in," he said. "I didn't know what it was, so I looked up videos (of founder David Belle) and tried to imitate what he was doing."

After doing parkour as a hobby, Ruiz said he "turned his hobby into a career" and became a parkour instructor.

"A lot of people driven by the same energy," he said of the local freerunning group.

History of the sport

According to discoverparkour.org, the sport originated in the early 1900s when a French naval officer observed the agility of locals in the French Caribbean Island of Martinique. It eventually became the standard of physical training for the French military.

Today's version of parkour is credited to Belle, who was formally trained in martial arts and gymnastics.

According to the site, Belle combined his athletic background and the philosophical teachings of the French to shape the practice of the sport used worldwide today.

Matlin Smith can be reached at msmith@lcsun-news.com or 575-541-5468; follow her on Twitter @msmith_lcsun.

Zero Gravity Parkour classes

• Where: 3030 Harrelson St.

• Info: 575-524-4960; 0gravitygympk@gmail.com

• On the web: 0gravitygympk.com

• Beginner: 3:30 to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday

• Intermediate: 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday

• Advanced: 7 to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; noon to 2 p.m. Saturday

See it in action

To watch videos of local freerunning and parkour athletes, visit lchealthyu.com and click on this story.